His Three Sons
by bridgie797
Summary: Jack has three sons: Charlie  the slap shot artist , Troy  the basketball boy , and Michael  RPG master .  It takes a very cold night before the boys manage to set the old man straight about the women in their lives.


Jack drove and drove. He'd been out on this icy lake every winter season for years. He loved ice fishing. People called him crazy, but it was the one time he could get his boys disconnected from their cell phones, girlfriends, sports and computers.

Charlie was always working on his slap shot or talking to one of any number of girls who favored him. Troy was nearly always in the gym at the high school perfecting his jump shot or "fooling around" with one girl or another. Michael was always hold up in his room shooting people he'd never met on his computer screen or chatting with some girl he had gotten his newest set of x-rated pictures from.

Jack knew that one day they'd grow up, find a woman they couldn't do without and then they'd understand his love of ice fishing. Until then, he'd resorted to guilt, blackmail (what mom didn't know…), or whatever motive would provide his much needed ice fishing expeditions.

This year had been a bit different. Charlie was now practicing his slap shot at university. Troy was practicing his jump shot on the local NBA court, and Michael had managed to find a job that allowed him to play his computer games for a living…doing quality control, of course. Now, the boys had moved on and getting them tied down for a weekend with their dad was no longer possible.

At least, that's what Jack had thought until this morning when he'd gotten the call from his eldest son. Seems they had gone ice fishing without the old man this year. They'd decided they needed a brotherly tradition. So, that was how Jack had found himself driving across this god-forsaken frozen lake looking for his sons on a Christmas Eve night so fridged cold that the heater in his truck was scarcely keeping up.

Charlie had called this morning and told him they'd gotten in over their heads. They didn't know where they were on the lake and they knew they weren't gonna make it through another night like last night. So, Jack had set out Christmas Eve morning to bring his boys home. But, the lake was large and the boys couldn't even tell him where they'd entered.

So, now, it was 10 pm and he was getting scared. His boys were out here and he knew he had to find them very soon. About the time he was ready to call in his buddy that flew the local lifeline chopper, he spotted a hut in the distance. He drove up on it and sure enough, he saw all three of his boys emerge, shivering and wrapped up as much as they could be in the Cartharts and blankets.

They climbed into the king size cab and each one thanked their dad. They said little on the way home. Jack got them to the house and Lucille took over from there. She checked their fingers and toes for frost bite. In her motherly way, she got information out of them Jack couldn't have ever been privy to on his own.

The next morning, Christmas morning, Jack got up about 4 am. It was his morning routine. He'd been an early riser since birth. Four am every morning, he would quietly get himself downstairs to enjoy the sports section, some coffee, and some quiet. Having raised three sons, Jack knew the value of quiet. Now, he marveled at the thought that his home was full again for the holidays. His boys were trying (if failing miserably) to carry on one of his traditions. And somewhere along the way, they'd all become comfortable and successful in their own lives.

Jack smiled to himself, sipped his coffee, and then decided to check up on his local boys, the East High Wildcats basketball team. As he was flipping to the scores in the back of the paper, he heard footsteps on the stairs. He looked up and saw Charlie kissing a beautiful, if somewhat disheveled young woman. She slipped out of the front door with one last kiss and Charlie starting moving toward the kitchen. He had a face full of smile. He got a mug down and Jack watched as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Jack was a little startled when Charlie spoke before looking up, "Yeah, I know you're there old man. I know you saw her." He chuckled.

Jack chuckled too, "Mmmm-hmmm. What are you doing sneaking girls into my house all night? You know the rules. When you're on campus, it's your prerogative. When you're home, it's my rules."

Charlie shook his head, ran a hand through his hair and laughed, "You never let up, do you?"

Jack rolled his eyes and mumbled something about young boys being so over dramatic.

Charlie laughed, "Do you know who she was dad?"

Jack shook his head, "Na, one of many I presume."

Charlie padded into the dining room in his sock feet, boxer shorts, and t-shirt. "Her name is Daphne Reynolds and she plays on the women's hockey team." He paused and let his old man swallow his drink before he said, "And she's my fiancé."

Jack coughed and looked up at his eldest. "And you were going to introduce her to your mother and I when? For that matter, this better not be a shot gun wedding son. If you got her pregnant—"

Charlie shook his head and sighed heavily, "That's why we were out on the ice, dad. I needed to talk to my brothers about how to tell you."

Jack scoffed, "I'm not that—"

"You've had expectations a mile high for all of us. It's what makes us so good at what we do, but dad it also makes it damn hard to tell you anything!"

Jack sighed and sat back. "Alright then, tell me."

Troy laughed from the doorway where he'd quietly leaned against the door frame. "You're kidding, right? If he starts telling you now you're gonna give him hell about every little detail."

Jack looked over at his middle son, "She seems like a lovely young woman with the exception of breaking into homes where she should not be spending the night."

Troy laughed and Charlie rolled his eyes, "I invited her over and snuck her into my room. Get used to her sleeping with me, because she's going to be doing it for a long time. For that matter dad, she's _been_ doing it for a long time!" He leaned back on his chair legs.

Jack pointed toward the floor in his teacher's way. It meant, put the legs of the chair down onto the floor…all of them.

Charlie acquiesced and leaned forward as Troy went into the kitchen for coffee. When Troy rejoined him, he sat down two chairs down from Charlie. "Look if you must know, we met up on the ice to talk. Charlie wants to marry Daph. She's great. I've met her. We've all hung out a few times. And for that matter, I've got a girl that I've been seeing lately too."

Jack rolled his eyes, "That god awful supermodel with the name like a dog?"

Troy laughed, "Remember the smart girl who lived like three houses down from us? Gabriella Montez?"

Jack nodded, "I always thought you should have asked her for help with your English grades."

Troy shook his head, "I did, dad. Senior year. She and I had a fantastic weekend, then we both went off to college. Thing is, I ran into her—"

Charlie coughed, "Literally."

Troy laughed, "I hit her car when I was driving through Palo Alto the other day. We exchanged information and I happened to mention that it was nice to see a familiar face again. We texted a few times and then we met up for coffee the next time I was in L.A. We've been seeing each other, quietly, for about 3 months now. And, I'm starting to think we need get serious. So, I called Charlie to come out with me to meet her. He was always better at telling when the girls were just after our status. Anyway, he asked me to hang with him and Daph and tell me if he should go through with proposing to her and we decided that weekend that we needed to start ice fishing again. We figured Michael was probably—"

Michael cleared his throat from the stairs, "Michael was thrilled to hear from his bros. So, we met up. What are you three talking about down here that couldn't wait until noon?"

The older boys and Jack chuckled.

Michael held up one finger. He'd always been a bit more animated. He playfully ran into the kitchen and quickly procured coffee and set the coffeemaker to start a new pot. Then he moved into the dining room with his brothers and dad. "So, seriously, what could possibly be 4 am important?"

Charlie looked over at Troy, "We're explaining the 'women' situation to dad."

Michael nodded, "Ah."

Jack looked over at his youngest son, "And do I get to hear some story about a girl you've got hidden in that computer upstairs?"

Michael laughed even as his phone vibrated. He flipped it open and returned a text. He looked back up. "I've had the same girlfriend for eight years, dad. She lives in Vancouver. We've been on the same rpg since we were like 12."

Jack's jaw dropped, "But you—"

Michael laughed, "Seriously, dad?"

Jack looked around at each of his sons. "All these years I've thought you boys were just flirting with girl after girl. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever settled down. And, Troy with the publicity speculation about you and the blonde girl…"

Troy laughed, "Nah, I prefer one smart, black- haired beauty."

Footsteps could be heard walking up to the front door. Jack turned, "Who could that be?"

Troy hopped up and jogged to the front door. He pulled her in and wrapped her in his arms. He leaned down and dropped a sweet kiss to her lips. "Good morning, beautiful. How was your night?"

She kissed him again, "Better knowing your dad had found you."

Troy smiled and teased her lightheartedly about worrying about him. Finally, he led her into the dining room. "Dad, Michael, meet my beautiful Gabriella." He nodded toward Charlie as he wound his arms around her and moved behind her. "You know Charlie, baby."

Charlie smiled, "Ah, I'm your baby now too? That's so sweet of you, Troysie."

Gabriella nervously cracked a smile. She waved sweetly to Michael and Jack. "It's nice to meet you both. I've heard so much about you all."

Michael laughed and waved, "Nice to meet you, Gabs. Come to think of it, I remember hearing Troy talk about you back in—"

Troy's stare conveniently shut his brother up.

Michael tried to be evasive, "—back when we were chatting online last week."

Gabriella blushed, "Uh, yeah. Okay."

Troy squeezed her slightly, "Come on, baby. Let's go get ready."

Jack cleared his throat. "Troy."

Troy stopped and flipped a charming smile over his shoulder to his dad, "Just going out to do a little ice skating, dad. I left my skates upstairs."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine."

Charlie laughed, "God, I need food. What do you have to eat around here?"

The boys got up and started rummaging through the kitchen. Jack, however, sat back and watched as his middle son stood to the side and let a very beautiful woman go before him. He saw the look in his son's eyes as she continued on up the stairs. He'd seen that look before in his own eyes. He looked into the kitchen at his two other boys. They'd all managed to create loving relationships right underneath his nose.

He leaned back in his chair. Some days it was good to know that all the hard work he'd put in to be a parent helped his kids create a happy life for themselves. Sure, they'd had their share of fights, but somewhere along the way, Jack had instilled in his boys a belief in love, commitment, tradition, and achievement. And, for this particular Christmas morning, that felt like success.

Michael peeked his head through the doorway into the dining room. Very quickly, he met his dad's eye, "Merry Christmas, old man." Then the young man ducked back into the kitchen.

Jack smiled and watched his boys mess around in the kitchen as they talked about making Christmas breakfast for their mother.


End file.
